The Marauders and the Fight for the Future
by Rebelette12
Summary: AU. slight TimeTravel. Harry is given the opportunity to travel forward and backward in time. The Marauders are influenced and decide to change the future. James Potter/Lily Evans. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE
1. Prologue 1: At King's Cross

"The Marauders and the Fight for the Future"

Rebelette12

**DISCLAIMER: I am NOT JKR and I do NOT own Harry Potter. This is the only time this disclaimer will appear, but it applies to this chapter and to all future chapters of this story.**

Full Summary: After sacrificing himself to Voldemort at the end of Deathly Hallows, Harry is given another option in King's Cross: travel nineteen years forward from the present, then twenty-one years back from the present. In each time he is allowed to make one deliberate change. How will the choices he makes affect his fate and the fate of the Wizarding world? And what role will the Marauders play in changing the future?

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Prologue, Part 1: At King's Cross Station

Harry Potter awoke to find himself lying on a cold stone floor. The words of Voldemort's Killing Curse back in the Forbidden Forest still reverberated in his mind. Was he really dead? What kind of afterlife was this place? What will happen to the Wizarding world now?

"No need to worry about that," a voice said from behind Harry. He turned to see who was there, but all he could see was a blurry fog. He reached into his pocket and was surprised to find his glasses as well as his wand inside. _Strange,_ he thought, _if I were dead, why would I need these?_

"You're not dead," said the voice. The fog that surrounded him began to dissipate, and Harry heard footsteps approaching.

He took an opportunity to look around, and he noticed that he was in a place that resembled King's Cross Station in appearance, but definitely was not the real King's Cross. He thought he might have been on platform 9¾ but did not see the Hogwarts Express anywhere. Just when he thought of the scarlet train, a track seemed to materialize itself out of the fog that engulfed him, and the train suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Harry then noticed that the fog surrounding him seemed to be coming from the train instead of swirling around him randomly. He also noticed that it seemed way too bright, as if hospital lights above had replaced the roof and the walls and surroundings of London in the station disappeared. The station also seemed not to have a beginning or end, like it was a continuous part of the empty and strangely tangible fog.

"Who are you?" he asked the voice coming from the fog when he finally remembered he had heard someone. An old man stepped out of the fog, silver haired and venerable looking. He reminded Harry of his late headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, but it definitely was not the same man.

"I am Father Time," the old man responded.

"Why are you here? Why am I here? Shouldn't I be in heaven?" Harry wondered.

"I am here to offer you a second chance at your future," Father Time replied jovially.

"Why? Who am I to you?" Harry asked quizzically.

"Why, you're the savior of the Wizarding world. You've worked so hard for the good of others, and all you've ever been repaid with is abuse. I wanted to make things right before, but I had to wait. I could only watch as you struggled until now," he explained.

"What's so special about right now? Voldemort isn't even dead yet!" Harry exclaimed, exasperated.

"Now is the only opportunity to make this offer. If all goes well, you shall see why, but I digress. I nearly forgot to mention my plan. Should you accept my offer, I am going to send you nineteen years forward from the current time in your life and twenty-one years backwards from the current time in your life."

"So I'll go to the year 2017 followed by the year 1977?" Harry inquired.

"Precisely. You will be allowed to spend one hour in each of the time periods. In each time, you can make one deliberate alteration. If you choose carefully, the whole path of your life may change for the better."

"Explain the 'one deliberate alteration' again please," Harry said inquisitively.

"Basically, it means that you can only do one thing in each time period to alter the timeline of your life. However, it is perfectly acceptable for that change to cause other changes to your future," Father Time replied.

"So I myself can only cause one change, but anything else that happens as a result is okay?"

"Exactly," the wise man replied.

"What if I choose to decline your offer?"

"You will be sent back to your own time to complete your mission and nothing will be changed," Father Time explained.

"And if I accept?" Harry asked, "Where will I go once I've spent my two hours time traveling?"

"You will be returned to Earth with your memories altered to reflect the changes made to the future."

"Will I remember this conversation or anything about my previous life?" Harry wondered.

"Probably not," Father Time answered honestly. These words were expected, but they still struck Harry hard. What about Ginny? Or Ron and Hermione? Would he still be friends with them? Would he even know them? Maybe was the only answer. Then again, he wouldn't need to worry about Voldemort, the Dursleys or Malfoy if things went right. He wouldn't be responsible for the deaths of innocent people, and he wouldn't suffer from the grief of losing so many people he loved.

After some time deep in thought, Harry said, "I accept your offer. When will I be leaving?" The resolve rang clear in his voice.

"Right about now actually," Father Time replied with a wink. He raised his wand and began to wave it before stopping to add, "Try not to be seen as you are. Good luck, Harry Potter."

"But I haven't even—," he was cut off when the fog engulfed his very being, dissolving him into time and space, and his surroundings blurred away.

**A/N: I know this is short, but hopefully future chapters will be longer. The prologue and the first two chapters set up the rest of the story, and that is when the title will come into play. You'll see soon. REVIEW PLEASE!**


	2. Prologue 2: Back to the Future

"The Marauders and the Fight for the Future"

Rebelette12

Prologue, Part 2: Back to the Future

"—decided what to change yet," Harry spluttered, hitting the ground with a thud.

He looked around and quickly recognized that he was in a dank alley near the Leaky Cauldron. Just as he was about to walk out of the alley, Harry remembered that it wouldn't bode well for his future self if a young Harry Potter doppelganger was spotted walking around Muggle London. He reached into his pocket, extracted his wand and quickly transfigured his hair and eyes brown and grew his hair to fall over his scar. Harry quickly shoved his wand back into his pocket. Just as he went to pull his hand back out however, a small piece of parchment flew out and was caught up by the wind.

Quickly withdrawing his wand, Harry muttered, "Accio," and silently hoped that no Muggles were watching nearby. Catching the note with his left hand, Harry unfolded it.

_If knowledge is what you wish to find,_

_The things stocked here will feed your mind._

_Some in particular familiar will be,_

_And should you find them they will be the key,_

_To unlock the past and alter the future for all eternity._

_A riddle,_ Harry thought. _How on earth am I supposed to solve this without Hermione's help?_

He read the note carefully once more. After studying it for a few minutes and thinking of what Hermione would do, the answer struck Harry. _A bookshop! It's telling me to go to a bookshop and look for something familiar,_ his brain practically screamed.

Instantaneously, his body responded by walking out of the alley and toward the dingy pub door. The Leaky Cauldron was exactly as he had remembered it, with a few minor personnel changes, of course. Tom, the old barkeep from Harry's Hogwarts days, had retired and been replaced by a good-looking young woman with piercing blue eyes. Shaking his head, Harry focused his thoughts back to the task at hand.

"Would you like something to drink, sir?" she called out flirtatiously.

"No thank you, I'm just passing through," Harry responded.

"Suit yourself then," she replied, turning away with a flirty wink.

Harry ignored her continued advances, continuing to walk between the grimy tables and chairs in the pub. He reached the back exit and pushed open the door to find himself standing a few feet away from a brick wall.

For a moment, Harry paused. _What would Diagon Alley look like if my current future played out for nineteen years?_ He brushed the thought off; _it doesn't matter now anyway, since everything in my life is going to be different if things go right. _He walked toward the brick wall and tapped a few of the bricks with his wand. Suddenly, the bricks shifted to form an archway. Harry quickly stepped through it and into the familiar bustle of shopping witches and wizards.

Harry looked around, thankful that no one had recognized him thus far. Even with the disguised hair and eyes, he still fretted over being recognized, especially by his future self. He looked down the alley, feeling slightly disappointed. In nineteen years, not all that much had changed in Diagon Alley. Business at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was booming as ever, and all of the other shops had remained virtually the same. In fact, the only noticeable difference Harry could see was the almost tangible change of atmosphere since he had last visited. Even more people than usual were bustling about. The overall mood of the alley had lightened considerably; everything was happy and right in the Wizarding world.

_Everything seems so happy. What if I only mess things up by changing the timeline?_ he thought. _What if even more people are hurt by my actions? Things still may not go right. Then again, _he considered, _if I found a way to leave some instructions as to how to go about changing things that should prevent some of the casualties._

Harry snapped out of his reverie when a large, strongly-built man accidentally bumped into him. He mumbled an apology and tried to remember what he needed to do. Then he thought about the clue he received. If he was right, Flourish and Blott's would have just what he needed. Harry began to stroll down the alley, taking his time. _After all, I still have forty-five minutes left to find what I need, _he reassured himself.

Fifteen minutes of aimless strolling and window-shopping later, Harry finally arrived at the bookstore. He glanced around, trying to think of books that might be familiar to him. He saw some spell books on one shelf. _Maybe these are what the rhyme meant. _He walked over to the shelf and grabbed a book off the shelf. After leafing through the pages, he realized that it just didn't feel right. Harry spent the next twenty minutes combing the shelves with no success.

Panicking, Harry began to sort through the books magically. He levitated each book off of the shelves, checking each quickly before sorting them into a pile. One of the shop assistants looked Harry's way, and Harry immediately looked somewhat sheepish. Whistling innocently, Harry levitated the books back onto the shelf and walked away under the glare of the young assistant. Moving to a shelf labeled "Biography," Harry looked over his shoulder before sorting through these books magically once more.

After several more minutes of searching, one of the books on the shelf flew off course and struck Harry straight in the chest. Six other books then flew into his arms and knocked him off balance. He began to topple, and he almost took another shelf down with him as he fell. This action earned him another threatening glare from the shop assistant, who had reappeared from behind the shelf. Feeling slightly small and intimidated, Harry picked up the books and turned the top one over.

_Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ was the title. _What in the bloody hell is this?_ Harry thought. He flipped the book to read the summary on the back. _Wow, a full biography of my first year at Hogwarts._ He flipped over each book in turn, read the summaries, and skimmed through the pages. He was reading his own thoughts and actions told through someone else's point of view.

Each book described one of his years at Hogwarts, with the final book describing the year he spent destroying Horcruxes before defeating Voldemort. Now though, he had been given the chance to change everything, make everything right. After seeing all the death, destruction, and sorrow his decisions had caused, Harry couldn't help but blame himself. He could only hope that whoever he entrusted with these secrets would understand the need to make things better for everyone.

Harry checked the watch that had once been Fabian Prewett's. He realized that he only had five minutes left in the future. He scrambled up off of the floor and went to pay for the books.

"That'll be 12 Galleons, 3 Sickles, and 11 Knuts, sir," the clerk said. Harry reached into his pocket and realized that he hadn't brought his moneybag. Swearing, he checked the other pocket. Relief flooded him when he felt the small purse inside. Pulling out the proper amount, he handed over the money. To most other wizards, the amount would've been considered rather excessive - especially spent on books, but to Harry it was nothing. After Sirius' death, he had inherited the Black family fortune while retaining the inheritance from his parents.

"Thank you, do come again," the clerk replied noncommittally. Harry nodded, picked up the books, and ran out the doors. _I'm never going to make it in time,_ was the only thought that raced through his head. He ran for another few seconds before he realized something. _Am I a wizard or not?_ Harry thought to himself. He turned on his heel and Apparated, thinking of the dank alley he had arrived in an hour earlier. He landed with a thud, dropping the books. He bent down to pick them up, scrambling to do so quickly. Just as he grabbed the last book, a now-familiar sensation swept over him. His surroundings swirled away as he was transported through the fabric of time and space.

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry this took so long to post. I was on vacation and then my beta was, so I couldn't update. It did however, give me some time to work on my ideas for future chapters. The next chapter should be up in about a week. Hopefully I should be able to update every Tuesday afternoon until school starts again. Once that happens, who knows? I will try harder to update more frequently than once a week if I get more reviews. The first chapter got me only 1 review, but over 48 people visited and about 10 put me on alert. So to all those people who didn't review please do this time, I really appreciate them. **

**In another note, this story is also being posted on with the same title but under the alias The Radical Rebelette. **

**Also, there was a mathematical mistake in the last chapter. I said that Harry went back nineteen years (from 1998) to 1977, when really if he was going to go back 19 years from 1998 it would be 1979. I do want Harry to end up in 1977, so changes have been made to reflect the date. It should now read that Harry went nineteen years forward and twenty-one years back. This is correct, and it should not have a major change to the plot. You won't have to reread anything.**

**Happy Reading,**

**Rebelette12**


	3. Prologue 3: Blast from the Past

"The Marauders and the Fight for the Future"

Rebelette12

Prologue, Part Three: Blast from the Past

Harry hit the ground hard; his limbs were sprawled in every direction, and his glasses slipped off his face when his head connected with the ground and began to throb.

"Ouch," he muttered, sitting up and rubbing his head. He reached over, pushed himself up and replaced his spectacles. Swearing, Harry noticed that one of the lenses had broken. _"Occulus Reparo_,_"_ he muttered and swished his wand. Making a mental note to thank Hermione for teaching him that spell, Harry surveyed his surroundings. He was in Hogsmeade, albeit a slightly different one than he was used to seeing. Many of the shops had closed down, and the few people that were out rushed about in an apparently frightened hurry. "_I wonder why everyone looks so terrified,_" Harry thought. As he looked into the window of the Three Broomsticks, however, he noticed a scrawny looking man reading a Daily Prophet. The headline on the front page read, "**Dark Mark Spotted Over Muggle Village, 16 Found Dead**." Harry realized that he had arrived right at the height of Voldemort's reign of terror.

Harry gulped and went inside, silently hoping that the Death Eaters wouldn't attack Hogsmeade tonight. He didn't have time to deal with facing Voldemort or anyone else tonight. His plan already pushed the hour time limit. Before he could carry out the next phase of his scheme, however, Harry needed to write a letter.

Stepping inside the Three Broomsticks, Harry quietly found a table in the back and hoped that no one would disturb him. He conjured a quill, a pot of ink and a piece of parchment and dipped the end before pausing. "_Where to begin?_" he thought. He needed a way to begin this letter that wouldn't make his father drop the letter immediately and admit himself to the Permanent Spell Damage Ward at St. Mungo's from receiving one too many jinxes and bludgers to the head. Just as Harry set the quill to the parchment, however, a young waitress tapped him on the shoulder. Harry jumped in surprise and the pot of ink he had been using was knocked off the table.

Cursing his luck, Harry scrambled to right the mess with a Vanishing Spell.

"Sorry about that sir," the young waitress stated with a slight blush, "Would you like something to drink? It'll be on the house."

"It's alright, I'll pay, and I'll be happy to have a butterbeer," Harry replied. As she moved away from the table, Harry conjured another piece of parchment as well as another pot of ink and began to write. After a few minutes, the waitress came back with his butterbeer.

"Anything else?" she asked with a smile.

"No thank you, Rosmerta," Harry replied having recognized the young woman who would later take ownership of the pub.

"How did you know my name?" Rosmerta asked.

"Just a slight hunch I had," Harry replied with grin.

"Well, if that is all, then it'll be two Sickles," she replied blushing.

"Here you go," Harry said, handing the money over to Rosmerta. After she left, Harry took his time finishing the letter and gulped down the rest of the butterbeer.

Once again, he checked Fabian Prewett's old watch. About a half an hour had passed since he had arrived. He pushed up out of the chair, walked through the door into the cool night air and began to consider his options. _"I need to get into Hogwarts without being seen. There's that passage in Honeyduke's cellar that could be useful, but it's not as though I'll be able to get into the cellar easily though." _Harry thought.

After a short moment, another part of Harry's mind thought up a solution. _"What about the Shrieking Shack? The moon isn't full, and the passageway will put me right on the grounds. It's perfect." _Doubts still surfaced in another part of his mind, reminding Harry of the dangers of the Whomping Willow and getting into the castle itself without being seen, but Harry pushed these away. The passage in the Shack would have to do.

In order to minimize wasted time, Harry walked around the side of the Three Broomsticks and Apparated straight into the first floor of the Shrieking Shack. He appraised the building and noticed a small square of fabric and a piece of parchment laying on one of the splintered tables in the corner out of place. Walking over, Harry picked up the parchment and read.

_Harry – I thought you might need these. – FT_

Harry unfolded the square of fabric and rejoiced at the sight of his familiar Invisibility Cloak, the one he had discovered had once belonged to Ignotus Peverell. Something else fell out, and Harry stooped low to snatch it up and recognized it as the Marauder's Map. Smiling to himself, he pulled out his wand, pointed it at the seemingly blank parchment and muttered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He watched as the spidery lines that marked each room of Hogwarts revealed themselves and noticed that all of the students were still at dinner, which could prove to be to his advantage.

Deciding he needed to move quickly, Harry began his descent into the dank passage below the Shack. He did not pull on his cloak, but instead he began to run as quickly as possible using only the dim light he cast with his wand. Stumbling occasionally, Harry finally reached the end of the passage and began to climb. When he reached the end of the tunnel and strode out into the night air, he was immediately grabbed by a strong limb. "Oh bugger," he thought as the tree began to swing him around. It threw him hurtling to the ground; Harry reached for his wand and quickly cast, "_Immobulus_", causing the tree to freeze. Scrambling away, he pulled on the Cloak and began the walk to the castle.

He creaked open the main door, hoping that no one was there on the other side to see an invisible force opening the giant door. Silently, Harry pulled out the Map, studying the tiny sets of footprints heading back from the Opening Feast in search of one name: James Potter. Locating the name in the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry set out on a quest to infiltrate his father's dorm and place the books he had earlier acquired (which he had shrunk and placed in his pocket) and the letter he had written inside his father's trunk.

Dodging in and out of corridors, Harry finally halted when he reached the familiar portrait of the Fat Lady and realized that he had no idea what the current password was. After waiting a few minutes, Harry heard footsteps coming around the corner and quickly moved himself towards the wall so as to avoid being walked into while under the Cloak.

"Ugh! That stupid, big-headed, arrogant, toe-rag Potter!" Harry heard. The source of the voice was a fiery-haired seventh year he recognized as his future mother, Lily Evans. He was slightly dazed by this, thinking of the opportunity he had to approach her, but knew that it would ruin his mission if he did, and instead he thought of something else for the time being. _"Of course, she still hates Dad!" _Harry laughed to himself.

"It'll be okay, Lils, I promise," said another girl Harry didn't recognize. _"She must be Lily's best friend,"_ Harry thought.

"But Potter's been made Head Boy, and I'm Head Girl! He can use this to stalk me even more! I have to share a common room with him!" Lily ranted.

"Try to act nicely towards him, then. Now come on, we need to get inside before a professor catches us."

"Fine," Lily sulked. She walked up toward the portrait and spoke, "Flibbertigibbet," and the Fat Lady graciously allowed her and her friend entrance. Taking his chances, Harry dashed out from his hiding place and quickly climbed into the portrait-hole before it swung back into place. He carefully trotted through the common room and stealthily climbed up the boy's stairs until he reached a door labeled seventh-years.

Looking around, the room was remarkably neat, but it was still only the first day of term. Harry peeked at the Map and realized that his father and the other Marauders were quickly approaching their dorm. He noticed a trunk with a small stag carved into the front above the latch and magically unlocked it; he returned the books to their normal size and crammed them inside with his letter before shutting the lid and backing into the corner. Checking his watch, he realized that his hour was up in a few seconds. Harry thanked Merlin that his mission had been accomplished before he felt the familiar sensation of being pulled through space and time.

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**A/N: Hey! I know it has been forever since I've posted anything for this story, but I had school start up and a lot of serious drama and extracurriculars to deal with, but that's all been resolved and the extracurriculars are mostly done for the rest of the year, save a few. Now that I have more free time, I will try my best to update this story once a week on Sundays most likely. I hope I made up for the wait with a good chappie! ~ Rebelette12**


	4. Chapter 1: September 1st Surprise

**A/N: Hey all! Here's my update of this story for this week, on time as promised! It's about twice as long as all the previous chapters, and this is a real accomplishment for me. Also, just a heads up I will continue to update weekly for about 2 more weeks before Christmas Break. During Christmas Break, however, I will be at home studying for final exams which my school has after Christmas Break because we're weird, and then I will be out of town for the second half and unable to update. The week after Christmas Break is finals week, and I may or may not have an update for you the Sunday after that, depending on how much time I have after exams. After all that though, hopefully updates will resume regularly. Now, enough of my blabbering, read and enjoy the first official chapter of TMATFFTF!**

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"The Marauders and the Fight for the Future"

Rebelette12

Chapter 1: September 1st Surprise

James Potter ran up the stairs to the Gryffindor boy's dormitories, found the door that read "Seventh Years," entered, and locked it magically. Panting, he was grateful for his narrow escape of the wrath of Lily Evans. He was going to try to make her his, whatever it took. A minute of rest later, and a loud knock was heard on the door.

"Prongs open up!" Sirius Black, James' best friend, almost brother, called from outside the door. Reluctantly, James got up, unlocked the door, and let his best friend inside.

"Evans is really pissed this time, man," Sirius warned, "I'd stay away from her for awhile if I were you."

"I didn't even do anything this time, except tell her that I was Head Boy, which is the truth. Then I asked her out, which is not all that unusual for me," James replied, though he realized now that that had not been the best thing to do in his situation.

"That may seem pretty harmless to you, Prongsie, but I'm pretty sure Evans was going into shock when you delivered her that bit of news, and asking her out afterwards probably didn't help much."

"Well you're a lot of help," James muttered.

"Say, why don't you just ask out another girl and try to move on? Any one of your admiring fan-girls would die for the chance just to be in your presence," Sirius said cheerily.

This was not very unusual for Sirius, who jumped from one girl to the next within the course of a few days without feeling any guilt. James, however, was more of a one-woman kind of guy, so he only responded, "But I love Lily, Padfoot."

"Uh-huh," Sirius said sarcastically, "And Evans hates your guts."

"Thanks for reminding me," James muttered unhappily.

"Wanna break out the firewhiskey?" Sirius asked enthusiastically.

"What the hell, why not? I think I might need it, besides, I can drown my sorrows with my best friend," James acquiesced. He walked over to the foot of his four-poster bed and unlocked his trunk with a simple wave of his wand. Lifting the lid, James began tearing through to the bottom for the hidden stash of firewhiskey he kept for emergencies when he noticed something strange.

"Padfoot, I don't remember packing this many school books in my trunk," James observed with a confused expression.

"Lemme see, Prongs,"

"I think there's a letter here that's supposed to go with them, hold on." He picked up the folded piece of parchment and began to unfold it.

Sirius grew very impatient as James began to read to himself, saying, "I wanna read it. Read it out loud. Read it, read it, read it, read it, read it."

"Hold on a minute," James replied annoyed.

"Well, what does it say?" Sirius asked impatiently.

"It reads:

_Dear James,_

_You're probably wondering who this is from and why there are so many books in your trunk, and these questions will be answered. This may seem crazy, but I'm your son, Harry, and I've been sent by the keeper of Time to deliver these books, as they hold the key to your future and the future of the Wizarding World. In my world, 1997, you married Lily Evans and had me, and I am now 17. I don't have time to explain everything in this letter, but Voldemort is on the rise even more than in your time. The books will explain everything you need to know in order change the future and save the world. I send them in the hope that armed with this knowledge you and whomever you choose to aid you can change the dark future and prevent the events contained in the books from happening. I wish I could say more, but I'm on a time crunch._

_Love,_

_Harry James Potter_

_P.S. – Should you decide to alter anything, could you make sure to marry Lily and introduce your child to the Granger family and the Weasley family in the future._

Upon finishing the note, James Potter promptly fainted.

"Should've known this was coming," Sirius muttered, "_Rennervate,"_ he said with a flick of his wand in James' direction.

Slightly dazed, James sat up in disbelief. "Oh Merlin, is this some kind of joke Pads? Because it's not very funny," he groaned, head in his hands. Something seemed so genuine in the way the person had written the letter, and it scared James.

"I swear on my life Prongs; this isn't a prank from me."

"Well then, what do we do about this?"

"Do you really believe it mate? It just can't be possible. For one thing, Evans would never willingly agree to marry you, let alone have your child," Sirius asked.

"I agree, as much as I hate to admit it. I think we should have a Marauder meeting right now though, just to be sure this isn't real," James stated wearily. It was already almost curfew, and he had a feeling this would be a long night.

"What about Evans, mate? If this isn't a prank, then she ought to be in on this, too," Sirius reasoned accurately.

"She won't believe this," James said, "but I guess we should tell her anyway."

"We could always prove it to her, using _Finite Incantatem_," Sirius said.

"Padfoot, you're a genius!"

"Why is this new to you?" Sirius asked, mildly rebuffed by James' tone.

"It's just a little surprising coming from you, that's all." James soothed.

"Why don't we cast it now, so we don't call everyone up here for nothing?"

"Okay," James agreed. _"Finite Incantatem," _said James, pointing his wand at the parchment. He watched it carefully before noticing out loud, "Um, Padfoot? Nothing's happening."

"That's great!" Sirius responded.

"Why?"

"If the writing were enchanted, it would have disappeared."

"Oh," was the only response James could manage. He was still very surprised by the whole situation. "_How can any of this be real?" _he thought. It was all too strange. He thought for a moment about the implications of changing time before saying, "Padfoot, I think we should take this to Dumbledore."

"I think we should wait until after we meet with Evans and the rest of the Marauders," Sirius replied.

"Makes sense," James responded.

"I think I'll go get Remus and Peter, and then we'll decide how to get Evans up here."

"Uh-huh," James mumbled; his mind was clearly someplace else.

"You're still shocked that you actually marry Evans, mate," Sirius observed. He received no response. Seeing that his friend was clearly in a daze, he promptly got up to get the Marauder's Map but not before sending a Stinging Hex at James.

"Bloody hell, Padfoot! What was that for?" James demanded, rubbing his now-swollen arm in an attempt to ease the pain.

"That was your wake-up call. We need to find Moony and Wormtail and let them in on our plans."

"What about Lily?"

"I figure this plan will work best if I ask Remus to go fetch her. She's more likely to believe him than you, sorry mate," Sirius reasoned.

"No, I understand. Since when did you become so intuitive Paddy?"

"I've always been that way mate. I just enjoy pranking and having fun more than studying, you should know that," Sirius elucidated. After taking a quick look at the map, Sirius headed down the stairs and left James to his fantasies of married life with Lily.

Half an hour later, Remus, Peter, Sirius and Lily burst into the Seventh Year boys' dormitories. Apparently it had taken quite some convincing on Remus' part to get Lily to come up here willingly. Sirius and Peter sat down in the middle of the floor and tried to look innocent.

"Remus, I thought you said you wanted to go over the summer homework with me. What are the rest of them doing here?" Lily asked with disgust.

"Well, Lily, there's something important we have to tell you," Remus replied in an attempt to sooth her anger.

"If this is one of your pathetic attempts to get me to go out with Potter, then I'm leaving," she stated curtly. When they only looked between each other, she began heading for the door.

"Wait!" James called desperately.

"What now, Potter? I told you once, and I'll tell you again, I'd rather go out with the Giant Squid than you," Lily said coldly.

"I wasn't going to ask you out," James responded simply.

"Oh," was the only response Lily could manage. She swallowed her anger momentarily, and asked, "Then would someone please explain to me why I'm really here?

"Well—" said James could manage before Remus interrupted.

"Prongs, mate, I don't think you're the best person to explain this," Remus pointed out. "Here Lily, why don't you just read this," he said, grabbing the note from James and handing it to her. A confused and astounded look appeared on her face as she read. A minute later, Lily was finished reading and speechless.

"I think she might have died," Sirius whispered to James after a minute.

"I'm not dead, I promise you Black," Lily replied angrily. When Sirius chuckled, she promptly smacked him on the arm.

"Ouch! That hurt!"

"Cry like a pansy some more Black, and it'll hurt worse," Lily threatened. Between her anger over the idiotic comments of the Marauders and the confusion over the note, she could barely process her emotions. An awkward silence ensued in which the Marauders were too afraid to say anything and Lily too angry.

After a few tense moments, James finally spoke up, "We tried Finite Incantatem, and it didn't erase the letter. Do you think there's any chance it could be true?"

As much as Lily hated to admit this, she did. Handing the letter to James, she admitted, "I do. While I was reading, I noticed something strange about his handwriting. Harry writes his g's exactly like I do, and I really don't understand how that could be a coincidence."

"So..." Remus began after a moment of tense silence, "What are we going to do?"

"I think we should have Professor Dumbledore look at the letter and the seven books right away, before we do anything else," Lily asserted, and she leaned in to grab the books.

"Hold on a minute Evans" James interrupted, grabbing her hand. Lily's cheeks lit up red with anger.

"What on earth—"

James interrupted once more. "I think we should read the books first, in case Dumbledore decides to confiscate them."

"But they could be charmed!"

"So? What if this isn't a joke? What if it's actually real? You said yourself that you thought it could be. What would we do then? If things in the future are actually going to be horrible, and Voldemort is on the rise more than now, don't you think we should help? Besides, there are laws of magic so ancient it could destroy our existence if we fail, Dumbledore wouldn't let us take the risk, but it would be stupid not to fight to save our son's life!" James countered. Lily was surprised at how strongly he felt about this. Obviously, he genuinely cared about their son's future, and she seemed to soften a bit when she thought of this. However, this didn't excuse the possibility of messing with time.

"If there are such laws," Lily replied coolly, "then we shouldn't be trying to get around them in the first place!" James immediately brightened when he realized that she hadn't denied the possibility of them getting married and having a son together in the future. In fact, it seemed to him that she genuinely cared about the future of their son but was rebuffed at the idea of breaking Ministry and ancient magical laws.

"What about our son?" James asked, trying to get Lily to empathize.

Lily's cheeks flushed the color of her deep-red roots as she replied, "Well, I don't even see how that is possible, but I guess anything could happen in time."

James was absolutely ecstatic to hear these words from Lily, but he only pleaded, "Shouldn't we at least try to help him if things are so bad?"

Lily couldn't argue with this. As much as she hated to say it, she responded, "Well, regardless of whether or not I like you as a person Potter, Harry is my son and we should try to help him however we can." James was elated at this concession.

"Sorry to interrupt the love fest here, but how can we help if we haven't read the books?" Peter finally spoke.

"That's the most observant thing you've ever said, Wormtail," Sirius commented.

"I think we should read them out loud to the whole group," James suggested.

"When are we going to have time to do that? I have to have time to do my homework and study for N.E.W.T.s," Lily inquired.

"We could do it right after dinner every night for a few hours," James compromised.

"But Potter, that's my library study time, I can't give that up," Lily complained.

"But Evans," James began mimicking Lily's tone, "That's the only time we have before patrols."

"I won't give up my study time, there are seven books. This could take weeks!" Lily insisted, angry at Potter's mocking.

Sensing the onset of a potentially violent argument between the two Heads, Remus piped up, "Why don't we take a vote?"

"No! No way in hell am I giving up my study time!" Lily exclaimed. James' face twitched in surprise, for he had never heard the red-head curse before.

"Did you just say what I thought you said, Lily-flower?" James teased stupidly. "Polite ladies don't curse."

Lily was immediately enraged at this. With all of her confused emotions over the whole situation, she directed her anger directly at James with full force. "That's it, Potter! First you had your friend trick me into coming up here, and then you go about patronizing me like you have every right in the world to tell me what to do. Hell, you probably made this whole scheme up just to get me to agree to go out with you!" Lily ranted. She whipped out her wand in the hope of hexing the "stupid, arrogant, toe-rag Potter" into oblivion, but Remus and Sirius were prepared. Before Lily could fire a single spell, Remus and Sirius had disarmed her, put a Silencing Spell on James and pushed him onto his bed, where he hid behind the curtains. "Hey! Black, give me wand back now, or I will find a way to make you hurt worse," Lily threatened, her rage now directed at Sirius.

"Now, now, fighting won't do," reprimanded Sirius in a motherly manner. He kept Lily's wand out of her reach.

"Padfoot, you sound like my mum," Remus laughed.

"Be quiet, Moony," Sirius snapped, tossing Lily back her wand in an attempt to shut Remus up. Lily was still fuming, and Remus became a little more wary of the situation now that Lily had her wand back.

"Now, how about that vote?" Remus asked in an attempt to change the subject. He eyed Lily carefully as he said this, but she had appeared to calm down just a bit after James was silenced.

"All in favor of reading the books out loud after dinner every night say 'Aye'," Sirius commanded. Remus immediately responded in favor. Peter followed next and Sirius also cast his vote in favor. James, however, was sitting on his bed wringing his hands.

"Prongs? I thought you were in favor," Sirius asked when he didn't hear a fourth voice cast a vote.

"Padfoot, you silenced him earlier, remember?" Remus pointed out.

"Oh yeah!" Sirius exclaimed. Remus' shoulders shook with silent laughter at the hilarious plight of James, who had been growing more and more animated with his hand gestures and silent attempts to garner attention. Sirius laughed a bit, but promptly un-silenced James when his face had started to grow red with anger.

"Thanks, Padfoot," James said sarcastically. "Aye," he said with mock-solemnity.

Though he already knew what the result of the vote would be, Sirius smirked and asked for the opposition in order to appease Lily by saying, "All opposed, say 'Nay'."

"Nay," Lily responded immediately.

"The matter has been decided then. We are going to meet after dinner every night to read the books aloud," Sirius stated with a mockingly solemn tone.

"Not fully, it hasn't. Where are we going to do this?" Lily pointed out. "It'll look suspicious if I'm seen coming up to the boys' dormitory every night."

"We could use an abandoned classroom," Sirius suggested.

"No, too shady," James commented. "We could get in trouble if we're caught out after hours."

"No we won't, we've got the –" Sirius began, but James kicked him in the shin.

"Shut up, Padfoot! Lily doesn't know about that," James whispered.

"Ouch," Sirius muttered, clutching his leg.

"What about the Head Dorms?" Remus suggested. "They're much closer to the Great Hall."

"Speaking of the Head Dorms, Prongs and Lily-flower," Sirius began before being interrupted.

"Don't call me that, Black," Lily spat with disgust.

Sirius chose to ignore this comment and asked, "Why didn't you have your things taken there?"

"Because we're supposed to meet with Professor Dumbledore tomorrow before breakfast to get the location and password," Lily answered.

"Holy Merlin's beard! I'd totally forgotten about that! Thanks for reminding me Lils," James exclaimed. Lily just set her head in her hands and sighed. "_Typical Potter_," she thought.

"So this is settled then?" Peter asked, "Because I want to go to bed." Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, the hour had grown late and their weariness was beginning to weigh heavily on their faces.

"Yeah, I guess that's all for now," James said.

"Just promise we won't tell anyone outside this group about this," Lily demanded.

"Easily done," James said with a shrug of his shoulders that suggested it was not his first secret to keep. Lily rather admired this loyal aspect of James, but she mentally rebuked herself for thinking this before looking to Sirius, Remus, and Peter for a reply.

"Same with me, Peter, and Sirius," Remus spoke. Peter and Sirius only nodded their heads in agreement.

"Goodnight then," Lily said cordially as she got up off the floor. James immediately rose from his seat on the bed and led her to the door.

"See you in the morning, Lily," he said somewhat awkwardly.

"Goodnight James," Lily replied before beginning up the stairs towards the girls' dormitories. When she reached her warm four-poster bed, she plopped down and reprimanded herself for this mistake. "_Merlin's pants, why did I call him James?_" Lily thought frantically. "_Then again,_" another part of her brain told her, "_what's more important is how the hell do I end up marrying him and having his son?_" The more she thought about it; she began to realize that James Potter, while somewhat annoying and mildly egotistical, was not as arrogant or like a toe-rag as she once thought him. "_After all, he did seem to care a lot about our son's future, and he is very loyal to his friends._" This thought unsettled her slightly, but when she finally fell asleep, she was comforted in the knowledge that her future self married someone with as much loyalty to those he loved as James Potter.

Meanwhile, in the boys' dormitory, James was so ecstatic; he was jumping on his four-poster bed like a little kid, making it creak sharply under his weight. "She called me James!" he yelled gleefully.

"Yeah, it's your name, and we all heard it. Now will you please quit that and go to sleep? You're acting like you're five years old again," Remus pleaded.

"It's my first name, and she hasn't called me by my first name, ever," James pointed out.

"Hooray!" Remus mock cheered. "Now that your ego has been satisfied, could you please go to bed? You know you need to get up early tomorrow to meet with Dumbledore."

"Fine," James grumbled disappointedly. He got down off the bed reluctantly and prayed that he hadn't cracked the wooden frame with his bouncing. Changing into his pajamas, he extinguished the lights in the room and closed the curtains around his four-poster. "Goodnight," he muttered to his roommates, but he didn't fall asleep right away. The sound of his name on Lily's lips and the hope of their future together invaded his mind and kept him awake. Finally, after an hour, James' tiredness won over, and he fell asleep soundly to dreams of his married life with Lily.

* * *

**A/N: Like it? I thought the ending was a bit cutesy for me, so don't expect the rest of the story to be like this. Also, just for clarification, there will not be a copy-and-paste of the text of the books in this story. There may be discussion, chapter titles, and the occasional quote, but this story is not going to be a character commentary. Anyways, please review! I know their are more people out their reading this story, and I would really appreciate constructive criticism (see reviews by "Anonymous Marauder" for an example) about my writing. Thanks! ~Rebelette12**


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